KYIV, Ukraine — As Moscow ramps up its offensive in eastern Ukraine, weeks of failed attacks on a Ukrainian stronghold have torn two Russian brigades, raising questions about Russia’s military tactics. and raised doubts about the ability to sustain the ground sustainably, large-scale assaults.
The battle for the city of Vuhledar, seen as the opening step in an expected Russian spring offensive, has been going on since the last week of January, but the scale of Moscow’s losses is only now beginning to be seen. attention.
The accounts of Ukrainian and Western officials, Ukrainian soldiers, captured Russian soldiers and Russian military bloggers, as well as satellite videos and images, paint the picture of a faltering Russian campaign. continued to be hampered by battlefield dysfunction.
In recent weeks, Moscow has hastily dispatched tens of thousands of additional troops, many of them inexperienced recruits, to the front lines as President Vladimir V. Putin’s forces seek to demonstrate progress ahead celebration of his invasion on February 24. Regarding Russia’s offensive capabilities, Western officials estimate that a large portion of Russia’s military has fought in Ukraine.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told the BBC on Wednesday that “97% of Russia’s troops” are in Ukraine, although he did not detail or provide evidence for this claim. US military officer estimate that about 80 percent of Russia’s ground forces are dedicated to the war effort.
The fighting in Vuhledar has also cost Ukraine dearly, both in casualties and in the sheer amount of ammunition it has used to repel the growing number of Russian ground troops. Kiev’s allies this week expressed concern ability to meet their needs, increases the likelihood that Ukrainian commanders will at some point limit shelling to the most important targets.
Vuhledar, located at the intersection of the eastern front in the Donetsk region and the southern front in the Zaporizhzhia region, has long been in Moscow’s sights. It has been used by Ukraine as a base to harass shipments on a vital railway supplying Russian forces.
But as has happened in previous Russian attacks, including one in November, “the enemy has suffered serious losses,” said Colonel Oleksii Dmytrashkivskyi, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military forces. in the region, said in an interview.
He said the attacks on Vuhledar were not surprising – the Russians were even warning Ukrainians of the upcoming attack through social media channels, in an apparent attempt to scare them. . Colonel Dmytrashkivskyi said: “It was announced and spread. “It was done to reduce the morale of the warriors.”
Colonel Dmytrashkivskyi said that, as they did during the war, the Russian commanders made a number of fundamental mistakes, in this case not taking into account the terrain – open fields strewn with anti-tank mines – or the strength of Ukrainian forces. He said two of Russia’s most elite brigades – the 155th and 40th Naval Infantry Brigade – were destroyed in Vuhledar.
In a week alone during the Vuhledar clash, the General Staff of Ukraine estimated that Russia lost at least 130 armored vehicles, including 36 tanks. That estimate has been supported by drone footage reviewed by independent military analysts and by accounts from Russian military bloggers who are ardent supporters of the war. but harshly criticized the behavior of top Russian commanders.
Mr Wallace, Britain’s defense secretary, cited reports on Wednesday that “the entire Russian brigade was effectively destroyed” in Vuhledar, where he said Moscow “lost more than 1,000 men in two day.” British Defense Intelligence Agency last week’s report that Russian units “are likely to suffer particularly heavy casualties around Vuhledar.”
Mr Wallace told LBC News, a British news agency, on Wednesday that the losses in Vuhledar show the consequences of “a president and a Russian staff either ignoring reality or ignoring reality and simply no matter how many people they are killing. their own, let alone the people they are trying to suppress.”
Many of the captured soldiers were newly mobilized under a call-out that Putin announced in September to some 300,000 recruits, while others were recruited by the Wagner mercenary group, many of them of them from prisons, according to Ukrainian and Russian accounts.
In recent weeks, a rivalry between Wagner forces and the Russian Regular Army has raged, with the group of mercenaries claiming that their fighters are more capable.
Wagner fighters led Russia’s bloody months-long campaign to capture the city of Bakhmut, 60 miles north of Vuhledar, while the forces in Vuhledar consisted mainly of Russian Regular Army units. , although some Wagner fighters were present, Ukrainian officials said.
After months of continued Russian offensives in Bakhmut, Ukrainian forces are in an increasingly precarious position, although Russian interests have diminished significantly. heavy costs for Moscow and left Bakhmut in ruins.
Gray Zone, a Telegram channel affiliated with Wagner, harshly criticized the Russian military’s efforts in Vuhledar and called on Russian commanders responsible for the losses to be held accountable before public trials. declare. “Unpunishment always creates permissiveness,” a recent post speak.
After Russia’s November attack on Vuhledar, which also reportedly ended with heavy losses, Moscow turned to newly mobilized recruits to replenish its ranks. But military analysts say those troops have minimal training and are probably not enough to launch a serious, organized offensive.
The Russians faced another problem in Vuhledar from the deployment of U.S.-made HIMARS missiles by Ukraine forcing commanders to place large concentrations of forces more than 50 miles from the front. That makes it difficult to attack with speed or surprise.
A Russian marine fought in Vuhledar told Russian media 7×7, based in the Komi region of Russia, that those who survived the battle were considered deserters. The Marine, whose identity was not released, citing the need to protect his safety, said he belonged to the third company of the 155th brigade. He said, after the attack failed, only eight soldiers from his company were left alive.
“It would be better if I was caught and never returned,” he said.
Despite the setbacks, Moscow continues to insist that all is going according to plan. On Sunday, Mr Putin said that “the infantry marines are operating as usual. Right away. Fight bravely.”
For now, Colonel Dmytrashkivskyi said, the large-scale Russian attacks have subsided, although the Russians are still attacking in small groups of 10 to 15 soldiers, possibly to probe the weak point of the enemy. Ukrainian defense system.
If the Russians continued with that tactic, he said, they would be overwhelmed by platoons of 30 Ukrainian soldiers.
“They were going to die, and that was it,” he said.
Steven Erlanger And Natalia Yermak contribution report.
